Alien Diplomacy

Oliver is staying here too. Look at it as you riding herd on him, okay?”
    Chuckie sighed. “Fine. Let’s get that over with before the next confusing yet deadly thing happens.”
    “And,” Oliver said, “remember that you, we hope, still have things to get.”
    “Good point.” Chuckie grinned. “They’re mostly new things I had to get in the last three months, so I’ll stop arguing.”
    “Great, hurry it up, though,” Reader said. “We still need to work on determining what’s going on. Before whatever it is happens and all we can do is clean up or bury the dead.”
    Cheerful pronouncements of doom over, we fretted some more about things we couldn’t control, got more useless information that merely confirmed things were dire, and speculated on whether Chuckie’s place would be toasted before or after he got there.
    In the midst of the useless fretting, my phone rang. I stepped away from the group while I dug it out and looked at who was calling. “Bernie! Hi, what’s up?”
    “Hey, Kitty! I heard there was some kind of gas leak scare around where I think you live. You guys okay?”
    “Yeah, we’re fine. It was a false alarm.”
    “Oh, thank goodness. Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to do a play date sometime. I know you have the big shebang tomorrow night, but maybe in the day beforehand?”
    I really wanted to say yes. Bernie was normal, and her son was normal, and wouldn’t it be nice for me and Jamie to just go hang out and pretend to be normal? But duty was calling, loudly, and this was, I reminded myself, why I’d lost touch with most of my friends over the past two years.
    “I can’t.” I didn’t have to fake the regret in my voice. “There’s too much we have to do before we go to the ball. But hopefully sometime next week. Maybe after Mommy and Me.” If, you know, we survived tomorrow night.
    “Okay, well, have fun. I spent dinner last night and tonight whining to Raul about how you get to go and we don’t.” She laughed. “He said he has another friend going, and he’s going to see if he has a spare invitation. I doubt it’ll happen, but I have a nice dress on hand, just in case.”
    “It’d be great to see you there!” It would. Not that I necessarily wanted yet another person in whatever danger was going on, thoughthe idea that Bernie was the Dingo’s target seemed as unlikely as me winning the Miss Universe pageant. But I figured their chances of actually getting to go were slim to none, so I could be excited safely. “I really hope Raul swings it.”
    “Me too, like you wouldn’t believe. Well, I’ll let you go. See you tomorrow, maybe, and next week for sure!”
    “Plan on it!” I hung up and heaved a sigh as I dropped my phone back into my purse. Being married to Jeff and saving the world on a regular basis had seemed worth the sacrifices three months ago. Now, being married to Jeff still rocked, but the sacrifices didn’t seem as worthwhile by a long shot.
    My phone rang again. I pulled it out. Not a number I knew. Hoped another “relative” hadn’t “died” and answered. “Hello?”
    “Is this Kitty Martini?” The voice was familiar, but I wasn’t sure why.
    “Yes. Who’s this?”
    “It’s Leslie Manning. I wanted to…apologize for how everyone was yesterday morning.”
    It had been so long ago in terms of experience, I’d almost forgotten about Kitty and Eugene’s High School Reunion moment. “Yeah, thanks. We’re used to it.”
    “Look…I want…” Her voice trailed off.
    I waited. Nothing. “Yes? Leslie, is there something you needed?”
    “Yes.” I realized she was crying. “I need help.”
    “Why the hell are you calling me ?”
    “Because you’re not my friend.”
    “Excuse me?”
    She sniffled. “It’s complicated, okay? Like everything else in this town. You’re still fighting it, trying not to fit in. And I think I need someone who cares more about being a real person than being a Washington player. You stick up for Eugene when, if you cut him dead, I promise you, Abner would pull you into the group because he thinks you’re cute. He thinks he could make you his little pet. I know you’d kick him in the balls before he ever got a chance to try it.”
    “Got that right. Leslie, really, what’s this about?”
    I heard a voice in the background. “I can’t tell you right now.” Her voice dropped to just above a whisper. “Tomorrow, okay? At the ball. I’ll find you and find a way, okay?